After I finished Graduate School, I stayed in Champaign-Urbana and got a job as a computer programmer at Duosoft. We were working on a series of Ada Instructional lessons for the Department of Defense that were written in micro Tutor. This was the stand alone version of Tutor, which was the programming language of the PLATO Computer System.
The contract lasted several months and allowed me to pay off some bills, buy a car, and save a little money. Then, in the fall when the contract was finished, I could not find a job. I soon became broke and lived off of spare change and gasoline cards.
In a series of fast moves, my life changed. My girlfriend left me for the last time, and probably not without good reason. My friend Mark Stevens in California had a place I could stay while I looked for work, and I did not know what else to do. So, I decided to move to California. There is a lot of other messy stuff that happened at this time, that will take too long to explain.
I started getting rid of my possessions, because I would have to pack everything into my 1972 Volvo Station Wagon. I sold my aquarium, gave away a number of books and magazines, and started to pack.
I visited my parents for Christmas and gave them my used stereo, school books, and record collection. I am sure they were very happy at my thoughtfulness. For Christmas, I got $600 from my parents. I returned to Champaign-Urbana and gave $300 to my ex-girlfriend for Christmas. Then on Jan 6, 1986 I packed all my remaining possessions in my car and drove to California with $300, 2 gas cards and a dream.
My trip across country was a fun, short adventure and I arrived in Long Beach on Jan 11, 1986 My first thought was, "This is just like everywhere else. It is no different. People drive cars, they live in houses, they go to work." It was very crowded with parked cars lining every street and the roads very congested. Everything was small and compact compared to the mid west. I did not think I would like it.
I remember the smell of night blooming jasmine and the fresh Spring weather. I was bored and very unsuccessful at finding work. I walked around the neighborhood, found some places to practice piano, joined Simmons Cable and started some video production work. I ran out of money.
While talking with my father on the phone, when he learned of this fact, he offered to send me $600 a month till I got a job, if I would send him an expense report. So I paid for everything with a check, and sent him a xerox of my checkbook once a month; and for several months he sent me a check for $600. Then in August, I was finally hired to work at Color Systems Technology as a colorist, colorizing Black and White movies. This turned into a ten year job and was probably the best job I've had in terms of hours, stability, and fun times.
In any event, at this crucial period in my life, my father saved me from ruin. Despite his other faults and errors, at least this was a very nice and unexpected gesture. He never asked for the money to be paid back, or even made it a condition of the payment. In any event, I barely paid my bills once I did get a job and couldn't have done much. He was a nice guy to help me out and I appreciate that.
My father died a few years later after a valiant fight with cancer. We were never very close, and sometimes I wonder how our relationship might have been if he had survived.
Within a few weeks of getting a job, I moved into my own apartment, much to the relief of Mark Stevens. Mark was a great friend to let me stay with him and impose on his life. We remained good friends (after a short cooling off period) until he died of cancer more than ten years later. I miss the intellectual and artistic debates we had. There are far too few of those discussions in my life today. Mark was a thoughtful person.
And now today, after a long series of mishaps, I am almost broke and looking for work once again; and there is almost no one to help me out this time. I wonder what I will do?
copyright(c)2014 Wm Schaeffer
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